Single mum: I spent my £35k house deposit on an IVF baby
SHE had managed to put by £35,000 for a deposit towards a house.
But when she turned 39, Lisa Green decided to abandon her property plans – and use the cash to have a baby through IVF with a sperm donor instead.
The single recruitment manager gave birth to daughter Francesca last October with her mother and sister by her side.
Now 40, she said she has no regrets about spending her savings and embarking on parenthood alone. ‘I set myself a deadline of having a baby by 40,’ she said.
‘I had disposable income I was putting aside for a house deposit but I felt the time was ticking more on my fertility than it was on buying a house, and it’s the best
‘I felt the time was ticking’
decision I ever made. I love being a single mum. I’m very lucky as she’s a very well behaved child.’
It comes after figures showed more women are deciding to become single parents.
Fertility treatment for single women has almost trebled in a decade, while the average age of a woman seeking to start a family without a partner is 39 years.
The number of IVF attempts by women trying to have a baby on their own has gone from 531 in 2008 to 1,352 in 2018, figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show.
Miss Green, from Solihull, West Midlands, told the Sun: ‘I wasn’t bothered that I hadn’t met “the one” yet but I was sure about having children. Approaching my 40s was the time my sister had her son
Charlie and he melted everyone’s hearts. And being around him definitely made me broody.
‘That’s when I decided to go into motherhood alone and began looking at my options.’ Three years ago, she looked into freezing her eggs, but scans and blood tests showed that her fertility was starting to decline.
‘Although I had lots of eggs, they varied in quality so the chances of falling pregnant were slim.
‘That’s when IVF was mentioned,’ she said. Miss Green paid £7,000 for her first round of IVF at BMI The Priory Hospital in Edgbaston, Birmingham, after choosing a sperm donor online, but she miscarried at nine weeks.
She spent another £5,500 on a second round of IVF which was successful. The rest of her savings – £22,500 – went towards living costs while on maternity leave. ‘I found out I was having a girl at my 20-week scan. Finally getting my wish of becoming a mum before 40 was unbelievable.’ Miss Green added: ‘I used to worry what other people would say about how Francesca came into the world but I get only positive comments. Even though I may now never be able to buy a home, I have no regrets.’